B:TAS "Eternal Youth" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

Tonight at 2:30 a.m. ET Cartoon Network airs the Batman: The Animated Series episode, Eternal Youth.

Episode #029 - Eternal Youth
Original Airdate - September 29th, 1992.

A health spa which advertises a 'back to nature' rejuvenating potion lures Alfred and his friend, Maggie Paige, there. It is in fact being run by Poison Ivy, who is using a new form of chlorophyll to turn people into trees.

Comment while you're still young.

 

[Zoddman]

Ick. Just, ick.

 

[BrendaBat]

Alfred had a girlfriend? Where the heck did Maggie Paige come from?
-
Anyway, a lot of people like to trash this episode, but I liked it. It was pretty funny and, even though it was a bit campy and predictable, it was still fun to watch.

 

[James Harvey]

Not a bad episode, but not great, either. I thought the animation for the episode was real good, top-notch. I believe is was 'Sunrise' who did the animation for this episode. he episode itself is a bit iffy. The 'turning into trees' thing was sorta weird, but does fit Poison Ivy's MO. I liked the scene where she told the sins of some of her victims.

And ya gotta admit those tree/people/things looked creepy..

 

[JTurner954]

I have nothing bad to say about it (in fact, I don't think I'll ever have anything really bad to say about Batman). Good to see Alfred get more for a change. Where did this woman come from?? Probably someone he met while grocery shopping or something. Regardless, it's not worth worrying about. 4 stars.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

4 1/2 stars. While the story alone would have gotten 2 stars, I had to rate it higher because of the animation quality. As Jim Harvey said, the animation was "top-notch".

 

[DerekPowers]

this was an enjoyable episode, not that great, but good. i believe they wanted to make maggie page appear more as one of batman's supporting cast members, but couldnt find a way to fit her into future stories. i think they say that in batman animated, but it could come from a different source.

but i'd have to disagree about the animation being "top-notch". while the animation in it is actually better than i remembered, when i think of top notch animation, i think of the demons quest and two face part 1. id say "eternal youth" falls just below top notch, along w/ eps like "fear of victory" which also had great animation, it just wasnt as smooth and fluid as some really excellent eps. also i think poison ivy looked alittle awkward in this ep, but im really just nit picking.

my favorite part is when batman adds dr. demiter's formula to human plasma and vines start to grow out of the test tube and attack him. that was cool. i give this ep 3 stars out of 5.

 

[czyznyck99]

I liked this episode. I give props to Alfred for at least letting a woman take him up to that crazy place.

I get the feeling he would have been too "petrified" to ask her. Hee Hee.

Sorry, it's my bad habit for bad jokes.

Later.

 

[The Penguin]

****

"You are feeling younger." - Maggie Page to Alfred Pennyworth, Eternal Youth

I really enjoyed getting a look at 'the other side of Alfred' in this episode. To think that he has a life outside of Wayne Manor and more specifically a love life is just something that never enters my mind. Maggie may be bit "wild"(?) for 'Alfie' but they do seem to get along well, even though the butler can be kind of a wet blanket. He was really starting to loosen up there in the middle, but that's just because he wasn't himself.

One of the first things that hit me in this episode was how good the music was. It really sets the tone for the half-hour and builds everything up very well from the first minute we see the legs running through the forest.

Youth. Many are afraid of losing it, and since the beginning of time, lives have been dedicated to regaining it. In the 21st century we dye our hair, wear wigs and toupees, and even have surgery—all in the name of "looking young again." Many of us grow up too quickly, but in the fast-paced world of 'miracle cures' and 'youth in a bottle' we attempt to 'turn back the clock' to an earlier time, either by changing our look or our attitudes. Poison Ivy promised a place for such things at the Eternal Youth Spa and to some extent those wishes were granted. Only to be taken away by the Eco-terrorist and what she believes are her good intentions.

Aging is a part of life and our life experiences are what make us who we are. There will never be another person on Earth that will have the same experiences and reactions as you, whether it gave you a gray hair or some wrinkles or not. In the end, it isn't how old we are, it's how old we feel that truly matters.

 

[Brainiac]

I thought the episode was okay. The plotline was a bit contrived, buy it worked for Poison Ivy. As already mentioned, the music was great and very moody. The animation was also top-notch, turning this 2 or 3 star episode into a 4 star in my book. Also good to see Alfred a bit more (although I liked his appearance in "The Lion & the Unicorn" a lot more).

~Brainiac

 

[Caped Crusader]

I like Poison Ivy, but it seems like most of her solo episodes are mediocre, especially this one. The whole plot with her turning people into trees was ridiculous. And BrendaBat, I agree, where did Maggie Paige come from? Since it seemed like she knew Alfred so well, I thought it was strange that we never saw her again. Although, I’m kind of glad we didn’t—I didn’t think she was a necessary character. Overall, not one of my favorite episodes.

 

[Carrieattheprom]

I mentioned this in another topic, but when I saw this episode for the first time as a little kid, those trees gave me nightmares. I actually kinda liked Maggie. Woman drives like a maniac. Was I the only one who noticed this? The car Maggie is driving has the stearing wheel on the other side. Like the cars do in Europe.(I'm American, are we the only ones who drive on the other side of the road?)

I thought it was really funny when Alfred decorated the Batcave with the plants.

"How does it look?"

"Green."

My mom loved that.


EDIT: I read the review of this episode over at World's Finest. Maggie does NOT know that Bruce is Batman. When Bruce and Alfred are alone he uses his real voice or "Batman" voice. When Maggie shows up he uses the lighter friendlier "Bruce Wayne" voice.

 

[The Penguin]

"Eternal Youth" airs tonight

Tonight at 12 midnight ET, Boomerang airs the Batman: The Animated Series episode, Eternal Youth. If you do not have Boomerang, you are encouraged to follow along on disc 1 of your Batman: The Animated Series, Vol. 2 DVD set.

Episode #029 - Eternal Youth
Original Airdate - September 29th, 1992.

A health spa which advertises a 'back to nature' rejuvenating potion lures Alfred and his friend, Maggie Paige, there. It is in fact being run by Poison Ivy, who is using a new form of chlorophyll to turn people into trees.

Comments?

 

[Style]

If nothing else, this episode goes to prove why Gotham needs Batman: Because the cops are raging idiots.

Gordon bemoans to Batman that they put the apartment of one of those "Wealthy industrialists" under a "microscope" to figure out why she went missing, and "all they got is eyestrain."

Batman shows up and finds the key clue in under 5 seconds. But don't give him too much credit though. It was a promotional video from a resort, sitting on the entertainment center, inviting her personally to a resort. And all signs pointed to it being recently viewed.

Now, maybe it's just me, but, if Gordon and Bulloc were plodding around the place, it stands to reason that one of them would have popped the tape into the VCR, and it might have given one of them the idea to, oh, I don't know, CALL THE RESORT IN QUESTION. This is a missing persons case. Hey, why dontcha may send someone up there and check the place out? Very basic crosschecking should reveal that this place has not only been personally inviting industrialists to the resort, but a good many who went there went missing after their visit! I mean, come on!

I know what the first counter point is: "Batman only knew the significance of the tape because he was sent one too. Gordon and Bullock wouldn't know why it's important." Baloney. Basic methodoligy and thouroughness would reveal Ivy's secret to the police. Not to mention the close attention they were supposedly paying to it.

 

[Revelator]

If nothing else, this episode goes to prove why Gotham needs Batman: Because the cops are raging idiots.

It's funny you bring that up. Now that BTAS is on DVD, I often show episodes to an old friend and his fiance. They in turn are Law & Order fanatics, so while I end up showing them lots of BTAS, I end up sitting through lots of L&O (no complaints though). And so when I rewatch BTAS, I can't help saying to myself through lots of episodes, "Y'know, if just one cop in the Gotham PD was half as competent as Jerry Orbach, Batman would have lots more free time." With that in mind, I suggest you start a new thread listing episodes that would have been tidlily solved without Batman's help if the GPD wasn't entirely full of idiots.

As for this episode: one of the many entirely forgettable episodes that people hide under the carpet when talking about how entirely great BTAS was. Frankly, it's very damn dull. And if they were thinking of giving Alfred a love interest, they'd have been much better off pairing him off with Leslie Thomkins, who always deserved more screen-time than she ever got.

 

[Style]

With that in mind, I suggest you start a new thread listing episodes that would have been tidlily solved without Batman's help if the GPD wasn't entirely full of idiots.

An interesting idea for a project. And while part of me is interested in pursuing it, another part of me is cringing at the prospect of watching through all of BTAS again. Definately not a reaction I thought I'd ever have. So, I think I'll let the DVDs sit on the shelf for another year before I "dive back in."

I was only watching tonight because I was waiting for Superman.

 

[Detective]

I thought it was pretty good, going simply in to story aspects. going in to Ivy's motive and all that plus the whole... turning people in to tree's thing. eesh, infact. I remember watching this episode, as a tyke but that's something else entirely, And alfred having a life of his own was a cool concept to delve in to, for an episode. can't knock the animation either.

 

[Batman Fan]

I thought this was a pretty good episode, but it was boring at parts and was a bit too out there for Batman.

First off, it was great too see Alfred get some spotlight in this episode and for him to have a relationship with Maggie was nice to see. I loved how they portrayed Maggie as having a wild side a bit, while Alfred didn't wanna go to the spa. It wa great to see him relax at the spa, if anyone deserves it it's him, stuck in Wayne Manor all day and night, and I wish they developed more with him and Maggie, but it never happened. I also love that scene where Alfred is putting up all the plants in the Batcave.

Poison Ivy's spa was really cool, especially her garden, I think the designs in this episode on the spa were great, and I love that scene where she's sitting by the water holding a rose and it's all hazy. The animation in this episode is great, especially Batman gliding and the huge tree sprouting from Ivy's formula. It was awkward that she turned people into plants, but it makes sense for her to do that, especially since they were all involved in destroying rainforests. Loved how she posed as a doctor and that formula she made was pretty digusting. Loved the dialogue between Ivy and Batman at the end about how they each fight for their own justice.

All in all, a great Poison Ivy story with great animation and character development for Alfred, even if it did get boring at parts, partially due to the weird plot of turning people into trees.

****

 

[Death58]

I actually have fond memories of this episode because it happened to mark the very first time I watched Batman: TAS. . .Good times. . .. I think on a whole, though, the story is a little different than the normal Batman story. Usually they present it in a way that sounds like it could actually happen. People being turned into trees. . .not so much. I didn't think they made this one seem emotionally deep enough, which ruins that whole real feeling I was talking about. Oh well, this still an episode that should not be missed.

 

[CyclonatorZ]

As another person said, this episode was flawed in that it established that Gotham PD is actually made up of morons. Seriously, no one in the force noticed that videotape, not even Commissioner Gordon himself? No wonder they need Batman's help so much.

Still, it had some good moments. Introducing a companion to Afred was a nice idea, even if she didn't come off all that interesting. And the animation, especially at the end, was excellent. Of course, Poison Ivy herself was great, especially in how she twistedly tried to compare herself to Batman.